The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-03
OLD SOREL.
OF obscurebirth.
He achievd fame.
The faithfulservant
OF a noble master.
He died Maro II, 1856.
Aged Sc vars.

The tough little hore would endure any
amount of hard riding Without signs of fag-
pinE: if however, his lder dismounted, he
would refresh himself by promptly lying
down, without waitin, to have the trap
pings removed. Although the saddle suf-
fered from the contat with the earth his
owner would not ALLOW him to be disturbed.
The horse was very find of apples, and the
General always remembered him when that
delicacy could be had. Little Sorrel soon
became thoroughly trained steed. If his
rider was deep in tie mysteries of some
plans he would suit his gait to the humor;
he often heard the soft accents of muttered
PRAYER and bore himself with a show of
solemnity until sons dashing courier on
spirited horse or he "song of a shell"
aroused him to bar himself like the war
horse that he was, The horse loved the
roar of battle and TIE rush of charge, and
chafed under a cloe rein and a logged
retreat.
jackson did not know music, and once
showed his dullness 5or it by asking young
lady if she had ever heard a song called
Dixie" and when She had finished singing
it he seemed much pleased, but did not
recognize the air played every day by the
bands in the army. But there was one kind
of music which he always recognizable
was the yell with which his troops always
He always acknowledged the compliment by
taking off his gray cap, and Little Sorrel,
catching the inspiration of the moment,
would break into gallop and continue it
until the sound had ceased. The inmates Of
the Soldiers Home say chat up to the last
he retained his fondness for the sound of a
gun; that when the boys would fire rapidly
in the neighborhood, killing robins, the horse
would trot off in the direction and look over
ta4o
the change of direction he would trot off in
search of the sound. 1t is rather remark
able that the horse was never wounded, al
though he bore Jackson through his cam
paigns of Romney, Mcdowell, Port Repub-
lie, Winchester, Gross Keys, Cold Harbor,
Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, and the
fatal field OF Charlottesville. During the
Maryland campaign he rode a handsome
gray, presented to him by an admiring
Marylander and came near losing his life
by the horse falling on him. He had also a
very handsome sorrel presented to him by
the people Of Augusta, Ga.
1t was at Charlottesville, after vigor
Gus stroke, when jackson by a prompt
movement had cut Hooker's line in two
capturing many prisoners and guns, that
Little Sorrel was to lose his most devoted
friend 1t appears that jackson rode out
with three or four members of his staff to
reconnoit'e; when they returned it was
dark The troops that saw him pass down
the road had been relieved by others, who
were instructed TO fire upon the approach of
anything indicating the enemy; these were
startled by the approach of horses hoofs in a
rapid cantef, and delivered one or two vol
leys.
The resultof this assault was the unhors-
ing Of Jackson with a wound in the right
hand, another in the upper part of the right
arm, and third in the left arm. These
wounds were not necessarily fatal, but soon
after he took to his bed pneumonia devel-
oped, with fatal result. Little Sorrel was
stampeded when the confusion that followed
the terrible accident was at its heigth; it
was feared that the little horse had escaped
into the enemy's lines. The next day some
Of Stuart's men found him and returned
him to headquarters
After the death of Jackson the favorite of
the camp was sent to Mrs Jackson, at her
home near Charlotte, N. c. A few years
ago, in response to an urgent request she
sent him to the Virginia Military Institute,
where her husband was professor at the be-
ginning of the war. The horse was sent to
the New Orleans Exposition to he exhibited
for the benefit of the Confederate Home and
the jackson monumental fund. His life
was shortened by the trip and cold con-
dacted while South After his return he
was consigned to the care of the inmates of
the Home near Richmond, some of them
having kept step with him in the trying
tunes when their beloved leader was ON his
back. The horse was an object of much in
tereSt to visitors to the Soldiers Home, and
great pet Of the veterans
Old Snfrel had passed through the ''mani-
KIN IN, od' Of taxidermy, and fair pre-
1entaton of the original has been secured.
Ills skeleton is also TO be articulated
AS the horse had been allowed to go I'M
Shod from the time he was carried from the
battlefield his hoofs had grown to an
enormous length. These were trimmed to
the proper size. The position given the
morse is an easy one, on an inclined plane
finished to represent stone. With proper
care the horse will last for many years.